After gaining experience in other fields, many professionals over the age of 30 successfully shift their career focus to supply chain management. On December 10, 2008, we explored how this is done with a panel of distinguished alumni from the MIT’s Masters Program in Transportation & Logistics.

These executives discussed their different paths to this new career in supply chain management, and shared their work experiences since their career change. They also described how MIT’s Center for Transportation & Logistics’ specialized supply chain management degree was useful to them in securing employment in their new field, and outlined the special benefits of the MIT MLOG program.

Description: MIT Libraries Director Ann Wolpert defines Dspace and explains that "solving the digital problem" is central to the mission of libraries and librarians. She also announces plans for a federation with other research based universities, and explains the critical role of the H-P MIT Alliance.

Hal Abelson discusses the dangers of massive "propertization" in academic environments. He offers some chilling, real-world examples of what can happen if all content in academic discourse is seen as "property", and how a student's class notes can become a derivative work, with restrictions on sharing. He argues that universities need a "seat at the table" as new models for scientific publishing take shape.

Description: His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke at an inaugural event for a new institute in his name, the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values. He tempered his provocative ideas about promoting ethics in a secular society with a stream of lively banter. He recalled that he had visited a homeless shelter in San Francisco the other day and told a man he met that he, too, had suffered the same fate after he went into exile in 1959. "I said, 'me too. Homeless'."

Turning to global issues, he framed the two largest issues facing the world as the economy and ecology. These must be solved with compassion toward those we don't agree with, and by acknowledging the root causes of them. He rejects the notion that the economic meltdown was caused by "market forces" and instead names the causes as human behaviors--greed and hypocrisy.

He called upon the community to not think in terms of "we and them" and encouraged all of humanity to come forward to solve the world's problems. The only condition that should allow for a "we and them" mindset, he declares, would be if aliens from another planet were to visit the earth. "Inner disarmament can be achieved, external disarmament is difficult."

About the Speaker(s): His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born in 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.
In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai. But finally, in 1959, with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile. Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile.
Since 1959 His Holiness has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates, citizenshiops and prizes in recognition of his message of peace, non"violence, inter"religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.

Description: While their ventures couldn't be more dissimilar -- engineering high tech defense gear for soldiers, and running an exclusive online boutique -- this panel's entrepreneurs share some common experiences and lessons.

Moderator David Fialkowwould "love to tell you I'm wicked brilliant, analytical, clairvoyant, but I'm not." As he sees it, a large part of business success depends on "the people you meet, and understanding how relationships lead to other things." One member of Fialkow's extensive yet intimate business network is Ben Fischman, who affirms this emphasis on relationships as he recounts his own journey through several enterprises.

As a Boston University junior, Fischman hungered to channel his energy into business, and with some friends, seized on the idea of a store selling truly comfortable baseball caps. The scheme earned venture capital funding, and rolled out over several years, five LIDS stores to hundreds of kiosks countrywide. During these initial years, Fischman gained the "most important wisdom: to surround myself with people who know a lot of stuff I don't know." Another lesson arrived with the hire of a CEO "who within six months, single"handedly destroyed the company's culture" and led it to Chapter 11. Fischman now takes a more leisurely pace vetting candidates before hiring them.

New opportunities arose, leading to e"commerce ventures and his current company, Rue La La, a "viral" online business that "creates incredible addiction" in its customers." Fischman modestly describes himself as "a one"trick pony," capable of pulling together a team of great people "with thick skin, creativity and guts," who can adjust when the business plan doesn't unfold as written.

Another Fialkow colleague, Alex Laats, found his way into business in a roundabout way. An MIT math and physics major with a Harvard law degree, Laats ended up in MIT's Technology Licensing Office, where he seized opportunities "to get close to technology and entrepreneurs." By 1996, he was "getting antsy to start his own business." He found venture capital for a business phone product that was ultimately acquired by 3Com. His next enterprise was "not a disaster but not a success," raising $42 million in a single round of money"raising, in 1999. But the company "hadn't solved its major problems yet," and it was a time when the "business world ran into telecom breakdown." Still, Laats gained from this experience: "It's about not being successful. It's important to know those lessons are often times more valuable than victory lessons."

His most recent work involves a new division at famed R&D services company BBN, creating products for the government, among others. It wasn't the easiest fit at first, admits Laats: "I started with nothing, just me and two guys. They didn't know what to do with me." But he's already got some major successes under his belt. There's Boomerang, a counter sniper product used by American soldiers in Afghanistan, and another venture that brought in $75 million in revenue last year, profits that prove the viability of his business concept.

About the Speaker(s): David Fialkow is the co"founder and managing director of General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in technology"based companies. Fialkow and General Catalyst co"founded Upromise, a rewards program designed to help parents save for college.

At MIT, Fialkow teaches a Sloan Innovation Period course called Leadership and Entrepreneurship, which explores a range of entrepreneurship issues, from how to attract venture capital to developing the skills needed to lead. . He is also a member of the MIT Leadership Center Advisory Council.

He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Pan"Mass Challenge and the Boys and Girls Club of Boston. He is a graduate of Colgate University and Boston College Law School.

Description: Returning to his freshman physics classroom after half a century, Kent Kresa still feels passionate about MIT: "It's a place I love; I feel good when I come back, and it's been very much a part of my life for the past 50 years." In his talk, Kresa describes how an MIT education helped shape his professional path, leading to a topflight career in the aviation and defense industry.

Kresa came to MIT "in love with airplanes," but had no sense where he'd end up. Fascinated by fluid dynamics, he found student work at Boeing in the wind tunnel group. After witnessing "huge open rooms that had acres of engineersall grinding away on numbers," he left Boeing with "serious questions about his future career" in aeronautics engineering. He was so soured that he contemplated leaving MIT for a business degree at Harvard.

MIT professors persuaded him that the engineering world was about to change dramatically, and Kresa decided to stick it out. This decision paid off, for Kresa soon found opportunities that were both exciting and cutting edge. He got an early taste of digital computing at a firm developing a commercial parachute system for satellite capsules. He worked at MIT Lincoln Lab in ballistic missile defense. One of his most "phenomenal life experiences" unfolded on a tiny atoll in the Marshall Islands, where he and a team of 100 MIT researchers toiled for two years on a missile reentry project. Cut off from the rest of the world, there wasn't "a lot to do other than to work and drink and party."

After completing an advanced MIT engineering degree in the mid"60s, Kresa went to work for DARPA. He saw the first stirrings of the internet, and the evolution of infrared technology, precision weapons guidance, GPS, stealth technology and unmanned vehicles. After seven years in this innovative environment, Kresa feared he "had peaked before he was 35." But his next job "fortunately proved there was plenty left to do." He headed to Northrop as lead researcher, which led to a series of increasingly senior positions, culminating in company chairman in 1990.

At Northrop, Kresa weathered the downsizing of the nation's defense industry, which spurred his company's acquisition of Grumman and other affiliated tech companies. He says he came to recognize that "engineering"related activities that emphasize broad thinking and innovation have the best chance of delivering good solutions and giving self"fulfillment and social value as well." These insights, he says, powerfully evoke his MIT experiences, where he first learned that "the most successful problem"solving stretches and crosses boundaries," and that the ideal environment for this involves "interaction with smart teammates, where everybody has mutual excitement about work, and the commitment to try out ideas."

About the Speaker(s): Kent Kresa was elected CEO of Northrop Grumman in January 1990 and chairman of the board in September 1990. He joined Northrop Grumman in 1975 as vice president and manager of the company's Research and Technology Center, developing new proprietary processes and products. From 1976"82, he served as corporate vice president and general manager of the Ventura Division, a leader in the production of unmanned aeronautical vehicles.

In 1982, he was appointed group vice president of the company's Aircraft Group and in 1986 was named senior vice president"Technology Development and Planning. Kresa was elected president of the company in 1987. Before joining Northrop Grumman, Kresa served with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he was responsible for broad, applied research and development programs in the tactical and strategic defense arena. From 1961"68, he was associated with MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, where he worked on ballistic missile defense research and reentry technology.

Kresa has also served as Chairman of the Board of Avery Dennison Corporation, a director of General Motors Corporation, and was appointed by President Obama as interim board chair of GM during the company's recovery.

Description: Her "journey to the top" is one that "could only happen in the United States of America," says Ursula Burns, describing her rise from New York City projects to the apex of corporate leadership at Xerox. For an eager audience of management students, Burns also highlights lessons from her early years and 30"year career.

Burns' mother, a single parent who raised three children in the Lower East Side on a meager cleaner's salary, taught her that "where you are is not who you are." She also forcefully conveyed the importance of a good education. So Burns leveraged her Catholic school education into first a college degree, then a career in mechanical engineering (after a mistaken detour into chemical engineering.)

When Burns first joined Xerox as an engineer in 1980, there were virtually no women in the company in her field, and few black women anywhere. Burns thought she would stay only a few years. Instead, she remained for decades, due in large part to the growth she found possible at the corporation: "They said, 'We hired you because we think you're smart, and if you work hard, we'll give you lots of opportunity.' And they never went back on their commitments."

Along the way, Burns learned a few things, such as not looking for a promotion until "you've figured out a way to transform the current work," and the importance of "loving change, and thinking hard before turning down a job, especially from someone senior to you." She also figured out, "If you think you have to trade off who you are to make it, then you are going to fail." At Xerox, she was valuable to the organization precisely because of her differences, she says. "It's interesting how uniqueness is more of a significant advantage; it got me seen."

To be an effective leader, she advises, you must determine "your space" in the firm; develop real listening abilities; have a clear vision and take risks. Burns is a big believer in setting objectives and standards for performance. She worries that these days "we're in the mode of making everyone feel better, loving each other, to the detriment of people focusing, trying hard and differentiating the great from not so good." One last thing, she counsels: Don't get distracted by how much money a position might make. "The measure of money is least important over the long term. There is a point where there is too much, and you'll know when you are there. Unfortunately, if you get to that point, you may have lost too much of the fun, joy and wonder enjoying the situation you're in, trying to have people around you be better, in pursuit of making more money."

About the Speaker(s): Ursula Burns joined Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineering summer intern and later assumed roles in product development and planning. From 1992 through 2000, Burns led several business teams including the office color and fax business and office network printing business. In 2000, she was named senior vice president, corporate strategic services, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations. She then took on the broader role of leading Xerox's global research as well as product development, marketing and delivery. In April 2007, Burns was named president of Xerox, expanding her leadership to also include the company's IT organization, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts. At that time, she was also elected a member of the company's Board of Directors. Burns was named chief executive officer in July 2009 and assumed the role of chairman of the company on May 20, 2010.

In addition to the Xerox board, she is a member of the MIT Corporation, and on the MIT libraries' visiting committee. Burns serves as a board director of the American Express Corporation and provides leadership counsel to community, educational and non"profit organizations including FIRST " (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), National Academy Foundation, University of Rochester, and the U.S. Olympic Committee, among others. Burns was named by President Barack Obama to help lead the White House national program on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in November 2009 and was appointed vice chair of the President's Export Council in March 2010.

Burns earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of NYU and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Columbia University.

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Post Graduate School Careers
msrp2008 Institute Career Assistance Network (ICAN) tutorialWed, 04 Feb 2009 13:49:10 -0500http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/1803-institute-career-assistance-network-ican-tutorial
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Institute Career Assistance Network (ICAN) tutorial
MIT Alumni Association Changing the World through Supply ChainThu, 19 Feb 2009 14:29:35 -0500http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/1949-changing-the-world-through-supply-chain
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Changing the World through Supply Chain
CTL & SCM Webinars Ses 6 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008This program looks at the significance of leadership and concepts of leadership through an interactive curriculum. We hope to instill in our students the four cornerstones of our program: charisma, knowledge, teamwork, and self-reflection.]]>
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Ses 6 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008
Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008 Saving the World with a Career in Supply Chain
Learn about how you could have a career in the growing field of humanitarian logistics. Hear from current MLOG and ZLOG students about their program experiences and future aspirations in this essential field.]]>
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Saving the World with a Career in Supply Chain
CTL & SCM Webinars Ses 5 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008This program looks at the significance of leadership and concepts of leadership through an interactive curriculum. We hope to instill in our students the four cornerstones of our program: charisma, knowledge, teamwork, and self-reflection.]]>
Tue, 26 May 2009 13:46:43 -0400http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/2941-ses-5-leadership-training-institute-summer-2008
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Ses 5 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008
Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008 Ses 2 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008This program looks at the significance of leadership and concepts of leadership through an interactive curriculum. We hope to instill in our students the four cornerstones of our program: charisma, knowledge, teamwork, and self-reflection.]]>
Tue, 26 May 2009 13:37:30 -0400http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/2937-ses-2-leadership-training-institute-summer-2008
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Ses 2 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008
Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008 Ses 3 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008This program looks at the significance of leadership and concepts of leadership through an interactive curriculum. We hope to instill in our students the four cornerstones of our program: charisma, knowledge, teamwork, and self-reflection.]]>
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Ses 3 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008
Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008 Ses 4 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008This program looks at the significance of leadership and concepts of leadership through an interactive curriculum. We hope to instill in our students the four cornerstones of our program: charisma, knowledge, teamwork, and self-reflection.]]>
Tue, 26 May 2009 13:42:27 -0400http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/2939-ses-4-leadership-training-institute-summer-2008
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Ses 4 | Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008
Leadership Training Institute, Summer 2008 Conversation with Joanne StubbeWed, 20 May 2009 13:17:26 -0400http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/2872-conversation-with-joanne-stubbe
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Conversation with Joanne Stubbe
Conversations with Scientists Series From the Net to Your Neighborhood: Using the Web to Connect Your Community and Encourage Civic Engagement
Recorded by Cambridge Community Television...

NeighborMedia Presents: From the Net to Your Neighborhood Panel Discussion

Whether you want to raise awareness about an important local issue or gather people for a community event, you can make use of web tools that are inexpensive and often easy to use, to organize those in your community. We’ll cover strategic uses of blogging, web video, social networking, web sites, and more. Come learn how six Cambridge individuals have used these tools for positive change in their communities and organizations, and how you can too!

Anita Harris, Author of the New Cambridge Observer blog, President of the Harris Communications Group, and former PBS journalist on how to write a successful blog and encourage people to engage with it

Mark Jaquith, East Cambridge correspondent for NeighborMedia, on how NeighborMedia has helped him further the mission of Cambridge causes, organizations, and projects

Karin Koch, NeighborMedia correspondent and host of Vida Latina, on her integration of blogging, video, and social networking for the Latino community in Cambridge

Beth Coleman is Assistant Professor of Writing and New Media in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies and Comparative Media Studies. Her fields of research interest include new media, contemporary aesthetics, electronic music, critical theory and literature, and race theory.

Philip Tan is a CMS grad who now directs the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a partnership between MIT/CMS and the government of Singapore to explore new directions for the development of games as a medium.

Ivan Askwith is a CMS grad working in New York City as Director of Strategy at Big Spaceship, a digital creative agency.

Clara Fernández-Vara is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab and a graduate of the CMS master's program.